Lee's Late Play, 28 Points Help SPU Men Hold Off Bakersfield
December 18, 2004

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 18) ­ Jordan Lee scored five of his 28 points in the final minute as Seattle Pacific University held on for a 66-62 win over Cal State Bakersfield in the first round of the High Desert Classic Saturday at McDermott Center.

Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Falcons (7-2), who won their fifth in a row. It was their first win three seasons in which they scored fewer than 70 points.

Eddie Shelby's 19 points paced Cal State Bakersfield (2-3), which dropped its third straight.

Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) mustered the only eight SPU points in the final 10 minutes as the Roadrunners rallied. Lee's three-pointer made it 61-53, but his biggest basket came on a driving layup with 53 seconds left, putting the Falcons in front 63-60. Bakersfield committed two turnovers and never got any closer. Lee then converted three of four free throws in the last 18 seconds.

Seattle Pacific shot just 42 percent from the field and connected on just five of 21 three-pointers. Lee snapped out of a brief shooting slump to make 11-17 shots, most coming after penetration into the lane.

Cal State Bakersfield lost the ball 20 times­13 as a result of steals. The 'Runners also Š. It was the fourth time during the win streak that the Falcons held an opponent under 70 points.

The Roadrunners had sliced a 14-point deficit to 61-60 following a 15-3 run. It was during that spell that Bakersfield's John Bell was fouled by Chivers on an attempted dunk with 2:23 remaining. On the play, Bell fell, hitting his back and head on the floor. The game was delayed more than 30 minutes as medical personnel treated the player. He was eventually taken from the floor via stretcher by paramedics.

Lee's total was one shy of his career high. He scored 16 first-half points, including nine during an 18-4 burst which gave Seattle Pacific a 37-23 advantage.

SPU faces unbeaten Central Missouri in the final game prior to Christmas in the second round of the tournament Sunday.

CAL ST. BAKERSFIELD ­ Stanciell 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 2-6 2-2 6, Hardwick 5-10 7-8 17, Schnyder 1-3 0-0 2, Shelby 8-12 1-2 19, Rice 2-6 2-2 7, R. Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Bell 3-6 1-2 7, Mitchell 0-4 2-2 2, Washington 1-4 0-0 2, Booth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 15-18 62.
SEATTLE PACIFIC ­ C. Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Bremerman 4-9 1-2 11, Chivers 7-17 0-0 14, Lee 11-17 4-5 28, Binetti 2-8 0-0 4, Birkle 0-0 0-0 0, Knudson 1-3 0-0 3, Steele 2-7 0-0 4, Bushmaker 0-0 0-0 0, Gabelein 0-1 0-0 0, Matzen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 5-7 66.
Halftime--SPU 41, CSB 31. 3-Point Goals--CSB (Shelby 2-5, Rice 1-3, Schnyder 0-2, Mitchell 0-3) 3-13, SPU (Bremerman 2-5, Lee 2-6, Knudson 1-2, Steel 0-2, C. Williams 0-2, Binettti 0-4) 5-21. Rebounds--CSB 39 (Hardwick, Bell 9), SPU 31 (Chivers 12). Assists--CSB 10 (Shelby ), SPU 10 (Chivers 5). Total fouls--CSB 14, SPU 12.